fish

Rhode Island’s waters teem with tasty fish. But we’re not eating most of them. That’s partly because much of it gets shipped overseas, and partly because Rhode Islanders just haven’t developed a taste for fish many consider trash – or “bycatch.” A group of chefs, scientists, and fishermen want to change that.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued Rhode Island a new wave of federal money to help fishermen affected by the groundfish disaster in 2013. That year, several key groundfish stocks in the Northeast were not rebuilding as expected, and it led to sharp reductions in catch limits. To offset those losses, Northeast fishermen would receive nearly $32.84 million in three installments. This latest round of money for Rhode Island, $705,658, is the final installment, bringing the state's total share to $2.65 million.

Young fish in the Northeast, from North Carolina to Nova Scotia, are moving north according to a recent federal study, adding to a growing body of research that shows fish populations shifting because of warmer ocean temperatures.

Fishermen are facing tougher quotas and declining populations for some of the most popular fish species, most notably Cod, a New England favorite. That’s one reason why environmentalists and fishermen have been working to promote more locally-caught seafood. Some, like lobster, quahogs, and other shellfish are catching on. But there are other fish that teem the waters of Narragansett Bay. There's one effort underway to raise awareness about scup, an abundant local catch.

NOAA Fisheries issued emergency measures last week to protect Gulf of Maine cod. On the heels of this emergency action, the New England Fishery Management Council has recommended new restrictions to address the depleted cod population, as it finalizes next year’s fishing management measures for several fish.

For the past 55 years, researchers and students from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography have trawled Narragansett Bay on a weekly basis. These trawls are one of the world's longest running surveys that track the type of fish that come and go from season to season. For our One Square Mile: Narragansett Bay series, we turn to these trawls to give us a snapshot of how fish have responded to changes.

Three URI students board the 53-foot research vessel Cap'n Bert at Wickford Harbor, as they do each week, to trawl the bay at two stations.

Nearly $33 million in disaster relief money will soon flow to help New England fishermen hurting from declining fish stocks and tighter fishing limits. The federal government declared a fisheries disaster last year in Rhode Island. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Reps. Jim Langevin and David Cicilline joined other congressional leaders to include $74 million in fisheries disaster in the fiscal year 2014 appropriations bill.